Tuesday 1 April 2025
To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? (v. 18)
Background
Chapters 40 to 51 of Isaiah are a great beacon of hope to the people of Israel who have been through the mill following defeat at the hands of the Assyrians and for whom the future looked bleak.
But how could Isaiah be so confident of the hope he proclaimed? In today’s reading, he grounds this hope firmly in the majesty of God. He wants his hearers to know that this hope is not human wishful thinking, but come directly from divine majesty. The God who is the source of hope is also the source of all there is – the universe, space and time are God’s creation and joy. In fact nothing exists outside God’s creative influence. The whole sweep of human history is a mere blip on the surface of what God has created and continues to sustain. We might make comparisons to help us understand the grandeur of God, but all comparisons are actually futile: God is so much bigger, wiser and stronger than we can envisage. "To whom shall you compare me?" asks God in verse 25. These words may strike us as boastful or arrogant, but they are Isaiah’s way of presenting the incomparable God.
But such a God, who could wipe out the universe and all of humanity with a fleeting thought, could be seen as a threat rather than a comfort. Looking at the state of their world, Isaiah’s listeners could have been excused for thinking that God might be on the side of the human tyrants who brandished such power and brought such suffering. Not so. Isaiah deftly switches his focus towards those who had most to fear – the faint-hearted, the powerless, the weary and the young – those who most often suffer when human power is out of control. It is these people who command God’s attention. God’s purpose is to bring hope to those who most need it. For at the heart of God’s purposes lie mercy and compassion.
To Ponder:
- What is it you hope for – for yourself, your loved ones, the world? Or have you given up hoping for the things you long for?
- Spend a little time today thinking about your hopes and, in quiet prayer, offer them to God.
Prayer
God of hope, we thank you for your assurance that you are here for us, present in the joys and challenges of life. You offer us strength in our weakness, and hope for our futures. Everlasting God, we thank you that you care for each one of us, and that we can never escape your love. Amen.
Bible notes author: Bob Bartindale
Bob Bartindale is a local preacher in the Bramhall & Wythenshawe Circuit near Manchester. He currently serves as the Officer for Local Preachers and Worship Leaders in the Methodist Connexional Team.